Song Huanshan had seen no shortage of prodigies and monsters, but he had never encountered anyone half as monstrous as Xu Yi.
Back when he had pushed so hard to recruit Xu Yi into the Refiners, he had never dreamed that the man would be like a dragon entering the sea, transforming again and again until his status soared in the blink of an eye. Even so, he had still believed Xu Yi could be kept under their control. No matter how monstrous Xu Yi was, surely there would be times when he needed the Righteous Alliance.
It was only on the day Jia Zhen of the Sea of Stars Alliance laid a trap to capture Xu Yi, and Zhong Changming, the Spring City vice chairman, suddenly rushed out and slapped Zuo Xinghai across the face, that Song Huanshan finally understood. This monster had successfully transformed into a dragon. From then on, the Righteous Alliance could forget about keeping him under its thumb. If they wanted to preserve their connection, all they could do was rely on the bonds of their past friendship.
Originally, the Righteous Alliance had shown Xu Yi nothing but kindness. With Yan Jingming as their link, as time slowly worked its magic, the Righteous Alliance might well have been able to maintain that connection with Xu Yi for the long term.
But during the fallout from Jia Zhen's trap, Chen Sihai, leader of the Righteous Alliance, had been tempted by Zuo Xinghai, leader of the Sea of Stars Alliance. When the situation turned critical, Chen Sihai had been expected to take a stand, but hesitation had shown on his face.
Xu Yi had caught that hesitation. Afterward, Chen Sihai had regretted it bitterly and sought out Yan Jingming, hoping he could talk things over with Xu